Child's Play
by strider7901
Summary: Updated: Aragorn and his son, Eldarion, play with toy soldiers. Should be a humorous story but with a romantic ending of Aragorn and Arwen.


Disclaimer: I don't own these wonderful characters but I'll put them back when I'm done.

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Child's Play

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Inside the white walls of Miras Tirith on the second floor, two important men were discussing plans for rebuilding Middle-earth.

Aragorn sat in his seat, boringly picking small balls of fuzz off his black, velvet vest. Then he unbuttoned his dark brown, silk sleeves, folding each one neatly up to his elbows. He dropped them on the edge of the red oak desk and rested his head on his scarred fingers reading the pile high contracts recently dropped from Faramir, Steward of Gondor. The king looked up and thought of how he wanted to be with Arwen or somewhere to have the stress escape from him that was trapped inside.

He finally let his arms fall on the desk and sighed, not noticing a small boy of light-brown, wavy hair pushing the front door open.

Aragorn, surprised that it was his son, Eldarion, gave a warm smile as he climbed on his father's lap with his tiny hands around his neck asking, "When are you going to play with me, Ada?"

He took him under his arms and placed the boy on the cream-colored, marble floor as the child grabbed two of his father's fingers, guiding him to his bedroom filled with all kinds of wooden toys scattered everywhere on the floor.

The grown man sat down with his legs positioned a child-like Indian style, asking, "What shall we do?"

Eldarion stood, placing a tiny finger next to his small lips and thought. "Hmm...soldiers!" He replied as the idea excited him. Then he quickly ran over to his trunk and pulled out small, wooden carved men in chain mail, tiny pebbles from a red velvet bag that belonged to two toy catapults, laying them all align in a row. Forty small soldiers stood in front of Eldarion with a wooden catapult in hand.

"Well, what about me?" Aragorn asked, feeling unfair as he watched his son carefully position the toys in the same stance.

"Oh, yeah." He grabbed one from his group to Aragorn and the other catapult to him.

He carefully placed his one soldier two feet away from the thirty-nine. Snatching a pebble, he placed it on the catapult and gave an evil grin, laughing, "Ha Ha! This is no problem for me!" He shot his pebble resulting in hitting three soldiers of Eldarion's. The child watched them fall as there swords were sticking high into the air.

He shook his head in disbelief and gathered one of his pebbles, aiming for Aragorn's one soldier that was still standing by itself. He let go of the cup and the spring snapped back, launching the pebble to sail over the figurine and smacked his father plainly in the eye.

"Shi...err..." Aragorn stopped himself before cursing and touched his eye. Feeling the red skin grow warm, he made the best of it and tried to rub the pain away. Eldarion laughed hysterically, hugging himself until he fell on the ground, giggling.

"All right, very funny." Aragorn remarked sarcastically, blinking his right, grey eye several times to make sure it was correctly functioning. He grabbed another pebble from the pile, aimed and shot "Five men."

Eldarion quickly stopped laughing and anger boiled inside him, snapping "You cheated!"

"How did I do that? I did not go past my soldier who may I say is _still_ standing." Aragorn replied back, innocently smiling.

His son yanked another pebble from the bag that laid next to him and focused cautiously to the lonely toy. Once again the spring flung back; the rock flew high over the soldier through the air and smacked Aragorn in the mouth.

"Son of a..." Aragorn yelled, rubbing his bottom lip making sure it wasn't bleeding.

Eldarion couldn't help himself but to laugh out loud again watching his father restrain from cursing in front of his son. This gleefully entertained him.

Aragorn took a pebble and hit five more men. He smiled at Eldarion showing that he would surely be defeated. He screamed of frustration, pouting with his arms crossed and his lower lip stuck out, kicking the soldiers which caused them to scatter on the ground. "New game!" The child yelled as he ran and brought out two, wooden, fake swords from under his messy bed. He ran back, almost tripping over a few toys, and handed his father the largest one.

Aragorn chuckled, not being used to a child sized sword but drawn it out in a heroic fashion, "Prepare to defend yourself, Lord Eldarion!"

His son squealed of joy and clashed his sword with his father's. They both dueled with each other, Aragorn making sure he didn't hurt his son. After a few short moments, he arched his movement, quickly smacking Eldarion's bottom and laughed of victory.

"No you didn't!" Eldarion shouted, and swung his sword across his small body, cracking the wood on his father's leg.

"Damn it that hurts!" Aragorn said, raising his voice as he dropped his sword and tenderly rubbed his shin with care knowing a bruise would rise in a few hours.

Eldarion, knowing trouble was approaching, ran out the room to find his mother while Aragorn stumbled over dolls with missing body parts and toy wagons trying to chase after him. He tripped over a stuffed animal, mimicking a small child who was learning how to run. He fled from his son's room into the hallway while shocked stares of counselors and maids watched him, never seeing the King run in rage.

Arwen was in the garden, the flowers in all sorts of colors blooming under the spring sun. Her blue eyes followed the words in her book as her daughter slept on her lap on top of a white bench. Unexpectedly, Eldarion appeared running up to her with an expression of fear on his face. He jumped onto the bench to his mother and buried his feared grey eyes into her neck.

"What is wrong?" Arwen said in a concerned and soft tone. She placed her book at the foot of her daughter's feet and hugged her son, wrapping her smooth arms around his tiny back. He remained quiet until Aragorn appeared before them with a bruised, purple eye, a swollen lip, and a limp body. She gazed up at him with question, asking, "What did you do to him, Estel?"

He stood up straight, brushed his vest and pants, replying in a deep and serious voice "It was mere child's play, Arwen." Then looked at her and suddenly felt like a fool. His own four-year-old son had beaten him up single handedly.

Arwen shook her head and comforted his son while resting her cheek against his. She whispered, telling him it was all right and not to worry while Aragorn was still standing in front of her, neglected and ashamed. A smile grew upon Eldarion's lips and jumped off his mother. Then he looked up at Aragorn and cautiously walked around his father to run off far away into the garden. She picked up her book again and searched for the spot she'd left off and continued her reading.

He watched her eyes scan the words on the page and unnoticeably climbed beside her, rubbing his nose playfully on her soft neck, gently whispering, "I am hurt too."

Arwen stopped her reading, turned her head, meeting his face "Oh, Forgive me, my Lord. Here, let me help you." She replied, gently kissing his eye with her soft lips and left her giggling, the perfect sound interrupting in the air.

"Thank you." He replied grinning and gave her a stern but wanted kiss. His mind drifted, forgetting how sore his really was.

"Ada, you're here!" There daughter said as she rubbed the sleep from her grey eyes, sitting up from Arwen's warm lap. "Come play with me, now?"

Aragorn frowned as he drew away from Arwen and sighed, "Of course, I am ready to play with you." He watched her curiously grab his hand and lead him away from the Queen, both heading back into the palace. "What are we going to do?"

"Tea Party! This time, you'll wear the hat." She replied as they both went up the marble stairs, pushing him into her play house.


End file.
